Pulte Buys Dallas-Based Centex Homes

NEW YORK (AP) _ Pulte Homes is buying Dallas-based Centex for $1.3 billion in stock in a deal.

The agreement announced today will create the nation’s largest homebuilder and could spark further consolidation in the ailing industry.

The transaction will combine Pulte’s strength in active-adult and retirement housing with Centex’s hefty market share of first-time homebuyers.

The acquisition also will give Pulte large tracts of land in Texas and the Carolinas, two of the most resilient real estate markets, and a presence in 29 states and Washington, D.C.

The new company — which will also include the Del Webb, DiVosta and Fox & Jacobs brand homes — will keep the Pulte name and headquarters in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

There will be an unspecified number of job cuts.

Centex chairman Timothy Eller says this deal “is a game-changer, pure and simple.”

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